This article submitted by Barbara Meister / X Academy

The MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition will be Saturday, April 25 from 10:00 to 4:00 PM at Watsonville High School pool where students across the region will showcase their remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) performing real-world mission tasks. This annual competition engages hundreds of students across the globe in a hands-on underwater robotics challenge designed to build workforce-ready skills through realworld technology and engineering experiences.

The X Academy - 3rd place world champions in 2024 and 2025 - will field three teams of students from 11 schools across Santa Cruz County. The lineup also includes teams from Aptos High, Watsonville High, and Monterey, the Bay Area and Central Valley. Fifty-four teams in total from elementary, middle and high schools have been hard at work with volunteer mentors preparing for this moment and in the process, building indemand, transferable skills in technology, innovation, creative-thinking, and teamwork.

Teams operate as mock companies, gaining experience in entrepreneurship, project management, and collaboration. They design, build, and pilot ROVs to complete mission-based tasks inspired by real-world industry challenges. This year’s tasks align with the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), and highlights the Decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (20252034)—a global effort to better understand and protect Earth’s frozen regions.

The MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition is made possible thanks to support from local sponsors and partners, including the Marine Technology Society – Monterey Bay section, Watsonville High School, Pajaro Valley Unified School District, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education, and others. Winning teams from this regional competition will advance to compete at the 2026 MATE ROV World Championship scheduled for June 25-27, 2026, in St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada which will be hosted by the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University and the National Research Council Canada.

The public is encouraged to attend and support their local teams. The MATE Monterey Bay Regional ROV Competition will take place from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on April 25th at Watsonville High School, located at 250 E. Beach St. in Watsonville, CA. For more information, contact Matthew Gardner at mgardner@marinetech.org.

Winners head to St. John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada, in June 2026 for MATE ROV Competition’s World Championship.